Second of July no one-hit wonder

Second of July debuted in September at Belmont Park and caused fireworks on the tote board, returning $138.50 for his maiden victory as the longest shot in the race. The colt was again dismissed three weeks later as the highest price in Belmont’s Grade 3 Futurity. He rewarded his backers a second time, to the tune of $33, by beating favored After Five by a halflength.

Second of July is likely to be much lower odds for his third career start. The colt will ship for the first time to run in the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint at Keeneland on Nov. 6. He earned a berth in the 5 1/2-furlong Juvenile Turf Sprint via the Breeders’ Cup Challenge program.

“I knew he was very fit and sharp and doing good, so I knew he would run his race,” trainer Phil Gleaves said of the Futurity. “I just wasn’t sure if it was going to be good enough, but it turned out to be . . . . All being well and if the horse is okay, we will head to the Breeders’ Cup.”

Second of July, from the second crop of the Grade 1-winning War Front horse Jack Milton, races as a homebred for Bryan Hilliard. The colt is named for Hilliard’s son Reed’s birthday.

The colt will be the fourth Breeders’ Cup starter for New York-based Gleaves, and the first in more than a decade. The trainer’s best finish came when Happy Jazz Band was fourth in the 1990 Juvenile. Second of July will be the first Breeders’ Cup mount for jockey Dylan Davis, who has been aboard for both wins.

“The first time out, he was pretty green about everything,” Davis said. “He was very professional [in the Futurity] and I hope he will be third time out. He was a lot better with the gate and the pony and the whole race scenario. He was a lot better for me.”

The Futurity has been contested at various distances on dirt over more than a century. When the Juvenile Turf Sprint was introduced to the Breeders’ Cup program in 2018, Belmont looked to revitalize the Futurity, as well as its filly counterpart, the Grade 3 Matron, with a shift to turf to serve as a prep. The Breeders’ Cup tabbed the Futurity as a Win and You’re In for its new race.

Last year, Four Wheel Drive pulled off the Futurity Breeders’ Cup double for Wesley Ward, who has the early favorite for the Juvenile Turf Sprint in Golden Pal, 9-5 on Daily Racing Form’s line set by David Aragona. On Sunday, Ward sent out Royal Approval to win the 2020 Matron. She is not certain to join Second of July in the Juvenile Turf Sprint, as she could instead stretch out to a mile for the Juvenile Fillies Turf.

Horses being considered for two Breeders’ Cup races may be pre-entered Oct. 26 in both, declaring a first and second preference. They can be entered for only one race when final entries are taken on Nov. 2.